Confessions of a Pilates teacher Pt 1

Emily Andrew • June 9, 2018

This month marks one year since I took the leap from being a miserable, anxiety ridden employee to taking ownership of my life and my happiness and took my Pilates business from part-time to full-time. It has been a truly transformational year and it's incredible how much your life can change when you finally start to follow what lights you up! 


As a Pilates teacher I often get asked lots of questions about what I do and also quite a few assumptions are made about how I live my life. I am so aware that social media can portray a certain "perfect" image or life which can not only mislead people but also, if you start to compare your life with what you see on social media you can end up feeling a little disheartened. 


I want to make sure that I am always 100% honest and open with the people that I work with online and in person so I thought it would be fun to give you the answers to a few of the most common questions that I get asked.


DO YOU EAT "HEALTHY" ALL THE TIME?

Nope! I take care of myself, sure, but my life isn't always full of green juices, avocado salads or rice and chicken meals. I usually look to eat wholesome, nourishing foods from the earth because I LOVE the way that it makes me feel. I'm not overly rigid with my diet though, partly because I suffered with an eating disorder for a very long time when I was younger. At the beginning what started as counting calories and limiting my intake over my energy expenditure soon turned into an illness that was ingrained into my very being and very nearly cost me my life. For this reason being obsessive about what I eat, having a rigid diet or labelling foods as "good" and "bad" is something that I will never, ever promote. Instead I listen to what my body wants and needs, what makes it feel good; if I fancy something sweet I usually reach for a piece of dark chocolate or an almond bite but if we're out at the cinema pic & mix is not off the agenda!


YOU MUST WORKOUT ALL THE TIME?

Ha! I'm pretty sure that I find fitting in exercise as hard as everyone else! I teach 6 days a week, 2-5 hours a day and then have to run my business, film and write all on top of that! Life is busy and it can be easy to start seeing exercise as just another "have to do" part of your day which means it automatically becomes a bit of a chore. The most helpful thing that i've done is change my mindset around HOW I exercise. I don't tell myself that I HAVE to workout a couple of hours a week, instead I aim for about 10-15 minutes, 2-3 times a week around my teaching. If it's a lovely day I go for a walk listening to audible or if it's raining, I put some music on and dance around my house. There isn't any "I should" or "I have to" in my exercise routine and as a result I enjoy exercising so do it more often and don't feel guilty if I don't feel like it one day. 


DO YOU SOMETIMES LOOK AT PEOPLE AND THINK YOU CAN'T HELP THEM?!

Never! The day I do is the day I stop teaching! There is no perfect in my book - what is perfect anyway?! Because of this I never urge my clients to do things exactly like everyone else. Perfectionism is one of the damaging dangers in our society because it is a goal that we will never reach. I have no opinion on my clients; it doesn't matter to me whether someone has never done exercise before or whether they run marathons on the weekends. All I care about is that my clients are open to try new things and give themselves the grace to make mistakes and take it step by step. Pilates isn't about perfectionism. It is about each individuals body and through practice learning the correct techniques in order to balance the muscles and create flexible strength. Every body can benefit from the Pilates technique in one way or another and in turn everyone can see improvements with their physical and mental health by participating in an exercise that isn't about being the best in a room of people or competing against others, it is about doing the best for the individual and reconnecting to themselves without any judgement.


Do you have any questions for me?

What is EFT Tapping?

By Emily Andrew • November 15, 2022
With Boy George bringing EFT into the spotlight prompting Sean Walsh and Jill Scott to start tapping in the jungle, many more people are asking; ‘What is tapping and what is it all about?’

My Breastfeeding Journey & Favourites

By Emily Andrew • August 8, 2021
My breastfeeding journey started the night before my c-section with my mother squeezing my breast to get the first mls of colostrum into a teeny tiny syringe so that we had something to go into hospital with. Just in case we should need it. I have always been very self-conscious of my boobs, I’ve even been uncomfortable topless in front of my husband at times, but here I was, 37 weeks pregnant and preparing for a planned but urgent c-section, tit out and being milked by my mother. I don’t have strong opinions on breast/bottle/formula, yes I wanted to give it a go to get the benefits of breastfeeding for both me and my son but, I believe that everyone is different and therefore there’s no ‘right way’. I had decided that I was going to just go with the flow in terms of breast feeding. I didn’t want to have my heart set on it, only to struggle and then feel the disappointment of using an alternative means. I was lucky, after the c-section my son latched and fed for a good few hours. I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief, he could do it, I could do it! Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as I thought they would. He had been born early as he had stopped growing, so we had a tiny baby on our hands that needed lots of milk, but this tiny baby also had jaundice and a tongue tie. The tongue tie meant that the amount of energy he was having to use just to feed was causing him to drink for less than 10 minutes before needing a sleep. We rallied and decided that if I could pump and give him top ups of expressed breast milk then at least we could know he was getting enough, which was the main concern, however it meant that feeding him was an hour and a half long affair. First I’d breast feed, then give him a bottle top up and then either give him to my husband during the day or pop him in the moses basket at night. I’d then pump to keep my supply going and our stores up, put the milk in the fridge, clean the bottle and sterilise everything ready for the next feed…then do it all over again an hour later. I was sleep deprived and stressed. If I had less than 4 bottles in the fridge I’d feel on edge, I never knew how much of a top up he would need to have- I didn’t want to waste milk and I didn’t want to leave him hungry. My sister supplied some of her frozen breast milk to take the self-imposed pressure off for a day or so and then my mum gently suggested that I buy some formula just in case but, stubborn as ever I wanted to do it all myself. After a few weeks we had our tongue tie appointment and had to figure out another new routine, thankfully with less cracked nipples and fewer pumping sessions. I began to feel slightly less like a milk machine - I got out of the house, did human things and as time went on I got more comfortable and really enjoyed breast feeding. I am now 9 weeks in and largely feel like we’ve got this. Don’t get me wrong, some days I worry that my milk has dried up, I’m not pumping enough, his latch is wrong or that he’s not getting what he needs, but I think that that’s part and parcel of being a mum – you feel like you have it all worked out one minute and then the next you feel like you’re failing at everything. This is exactly why I feel like putting pressure on ourselves, or each other to do things a certain way is just fruitless. I’m sure that no matter what the choice, there are hard bits that just feel too much, days where you spill the milk and just feel like everything is against you. No matter what way you feed your baby, it’s important to give yourself grace over guilt. Do what you need to do to keep both you and your baby happy and healthy.

Morning Sickness Hacks

By Emily Andrew • March 7, 2021
After writing about my experience with morning sickness and the effects it had on my mental health I wanted to pop a post out about some of the tips and tricks I've tried out just in case they are useful for other people! Some things I tried and they didn't work so well, some things did - we are all different and this is by no way a list designed for you to live by! But if you try some things out and it works then that's great.  I'll always recommend first and foremost that you speak to your midwife or GP about any symptoms you're concerned about, especially if you're struggling with your mental health.
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